Add Streaming Media for the Web to Your Technological Toolkit

Stephen T. Anderson Sr.
Associate Professor

USC Sumter

200 Miller Rd.

Sumpter, SC 29150

(803) 775-6341

stevea@uscsumter.edu

Abstract

Many of the effective pedagogical tools I have implemented have been introduced to me through conference papers of a tutorial nature. If the learning curve of a tool is so demanding that it takes many weeks or months of learning, and many hours to produce a very short learning experience, then I am typically not interested in adding it to my technological tool kit. I often burn out long before any benefits are realized.

Features that I consider essential are that the new tool be:

• Easy to obtain/Install
• Easy for the developer to use
• Easy for the audience to use
• Easy on everybody's pocketbook
• Effective for developing learning/teaching tools
  

The tools I present at this session can be learned in less than an hour, and when you return home, you can download and install the tools in less than an hour. You can then immediately begin to create a narrated streaming slide show right in PowerPoint.

In this tutorial session, we will demonstrate how to download the necessary software, how to use RealPresenter (the FREE version) to create a streaming narrated PowerPoint slide show. We will then learn how to edit such a presentation. We will then play the final product using RealPlayer (the FREE version.) We will also discuss some tips/tricks to use in PowerPoint before the narration is added such as imaging, drawing tools, and animation options. We will also discuss the RealPresenter techniques to make more effective streaming media presentations. We will learn how to “publish” such a file onto a RealServer machine. With less than one hour of training, you should be able to return and implement these tools immediately.

If you are a neophyte and want to create narrated slide shows for the web which use streaming technology so that download time is cut way down, then this session is for you.

Introduction

I have been developing multimedia-learning materials for in-class and stand-alone use utilizing presentation software for quite a few years. I then turned my attention to the creation of on-line learning resources. With limited bandwidth preventing the timely download of large multimedia files, I realigned my efforts away from multimedia presentations when developing on-line materials. Unless the audience was on campus to take advantage of local network connections, the benefits of multimedia presentations were almost always heavily outweighed by the cost in time and effort to download and view the presentations. As wider band-width becomes more common, it seems to be time to realign my efforts to multimedia files which can take advantage of “streaming” technology which allows files to begin running before the downloading has been completed. As I explored products that would help me to develop such materials on a limited budget (zero is a definite limitation!), I came across a product distributed by REALÔ which fits the four “Easy” and one “Effective” requirements (described above) I look for when evaluating development tools. While I normally do not push one product over another when possible, this product may well be in a class by itself, especially considering that the Basic version I describe in this paper is distributed free of charge.

RealPresenter Basic

Visit the following web site:

http://www.realnetworks.com

Locate the link near the bottom of the site that allows you to download RealPresenter Basic (or the “Plus” version if you are ready to spend under $200—check for academic pricing.)

The downloaded file is a self-installing executable file which, when double-clicked, will install the software and the supporting files necessary to create and play “streaming PowerPoint slide shows” for on-line or off-line use. The minimum system requirements, as described on the web site are listed as:

 A.  300MHz Intel Pentium II processor or equivalent

 B.   Free RealPlayer 8 Basic (recommended) or RealPlayer 8 Plus

 C.   Platforms: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT 4

After installing the software, the next time you open PowerPoint, you will notice that there is a new RealPresenter menu item setting on the PowerPoint menu bar as seen in the following screen shot.

The PowerPoint presentation must already be created and open (and should be saved) before you attempt to narrate it. There are definite techniques that should be used when creating the PowerPoint slide show before RealPresenter is “applied.” The following PowerPoint guidelines are suggested:

   •        Be certain all fonts are slightly larger than you would normally use since the viewer may opt to view the “show” in a small window. I suggest a minimum 32 point font

   •        Do not utilize script of handwriting-shaped fonts as they are typically much harder to read, especially if the viewer opts a smaller window when viewing the streaming show

   •        Do NOT use any “fancy” transitions since the ONLY transition RealPresenter uses is “Appear” and any transition will be converted once RealPresenter is applied

   •        I have the Title of a slide show up without any transition since I do not want the user to have to wait at all to see where the next slide is headed

   •        DO utilize transitions on bullet lists where they “wait for a mouse click” to proceed. This way, when YOU are ready to transition your narration to the next topic, YOU will control when the text appears

   •        Do NOT use animated images, since movies and animations transition into still images when RealPresenter is applied.

   •        Use graphics to enhance the learning (not just the “looks”) and freely utilize the drawing capabilities of PowerPoint so that arrows, specialty text boxes, and any imported images become “alive” as you narrate the slide. Remember that EACH object can be separately transitioned. Also take advantage of the “group” option where objects can be simulta­neously chosen (use the shift-key while clicking on them) and then grouped into a single image

   •        Utilize scanned images and screen shots freely (assuming you are within “fair use” guidelines) as they greatly enhance learning beyond a “simple bullet list” presentation. This is especially effective for any class involving labs or where lots of visualization is important in the learning process. Do not limit yourself and your audience to clip art!

   •        If you include graphics, figures, or screen shots on a slide combined with text and you want the image to appear part-way into the slide, then be sure to break the text into two text boxes so as the first text box is completed, the image transitions onto the screen, followed by the second text box.

   •        Be absolutely sure that EVERY transition, color, spelling, image, drawing, background, etc. is letter-perfect in PowerPoint BEFORE you ever attempt to apply RealPresenter. Once you have created the narration, you can NOT change transitions, spelling, etc. without losing the entire first narration attempt. You may, of course, edit the original PowerPoint presentation, then double-check it, then redo the narration from scratch!

The session will feature a LIVE editing session where the presenter will take a PowerPoint slide show that has already been created, make the appropriate transitions to optimize the narration process, and then create a “first draft” streaming narrated slide show utilizing RealPresenterÔ. We then will edit the narration, demonstrating how best to isolate individual narrated “thoughts” so the editing is separated while the resulting product is “fluid” and with few interruptions or dead spaces. By the end of this session, you should be able to return to campus and download the product, install it, and create your first streaming narrated slide show within a few short hours. If you are a neophyte to streaming audio/video and if this is the type of learning curve you can live with, then this is the session is for you.